Lifestyle Factors That Promote Health And A Longer Lifespan

Multiple lifestyle factors can help you extend your lifespan! Read on to learn more now!

RELATED: How To Increase Longevity: The Science Of Aging With Dr. Matt Kaeberlein

In this article:

1. How Lifestyle Affects Lifespan
2. Healthy Lifestyle Factors
   • Exercising
   • Sleep
   • Healthy Diet
   • Body Weight
   • Tobacco & Alcohol

HOW LIFESTYLE AFFECTS LIFESPAN

Our lifestyle affects our lifespan. Of course, our genes play a significant role in how long we will live, but we cannot change our genes and the environmental conditions around us. Making good choices and living a healthy life can extend longevity.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE FACTORS

Exercising

Regardless of age, sex, weight, or health conditions, moderate physical activity is very beneficial for longevity. Getting daily physical activity, even for 30 minutes a day, can help reduce heart rate, cardiovascular diseases, and sarcopenia caused by age. In Europe, it is thought that lack of exercise can increase the risk of breast cancer by up to 9% and colon cancer risk up to 10%.

Getting exercise daily doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go to the gym and do extreme workouts. You can get the needed physical exercise by doing light leisure activities. These activities can be simple activities such as walking, gardening, dancing, swimming, bicycling, etc.

Sleep

Sleep is vital for overall health. Not getting enough sleep and getting too much sleep are both terrible for health and can cause health issues such as decreased appetite, weaker immune system, depression, decreased attention span, etc.

The ideal amount of sleep is known to be 7 hours per night. Sleep gives the body the chance to reset and regenerate, helping the brain to repair damaged brain cells. Getting enough sleep reduces the risk of heart-related health issues, prevents cancer, reduces stress, reduces inflammation, helps focus better, boosts energy, and helps you get better results from exercises.

Healthy Diet

A healthy and balanced diet can provide energy and lower the risks of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Having a balanced diet can help you maintain healthy body weight and better results from exercises.

It is recommended to add healthier foods in your diet, such as nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, herbs, and spices. You can follow the Mediterranean diet, which is known to be one of the most healthy diets.

Body Weight

Maintaining a healthy body weight is vital to achieving a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is reported to be linked to a shorter lifespan. It also increases the risk of chronic diseases, disrupts your sleep, and limits physical activity.

The average body mass index should be between 19 and 24. A study conducted in 2018 has reported that those who had a body mass index between 30-35 had a 27% increase in mortality, and those with body mass indexes between 35-40 had a 93% increase in mortality.

Having long term healthy eating habits can eliminate the risk of obesity. Having a healthy body weight can help your metabolism to work better, sleep better, and live better.

Tobacco & Alcohol

Chewing tobacco and smoking decreases life quality and longevity drastically. Overall mortality for those who smoke is three times higher than those who have never smoked. Smoking is known to cause cancer, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, respiratory diseases, and more according to the annual cigarette-smoking-related mortality list provided by the CDC.

In terms of alcohol consumption, there are different ideas. It is known that red wine has health benefits such as protecting the body against multiple diseases, but drinking red wine isn’t the only way to be protected from these diseases. Moderate alcohol drinking can lower heart disease risks. Bus excessive alcohol consumption can cause health problems such as stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, suicide, depression, etc.

Within moderate drinking limits, alcohol consumption can be beneficial to extend your longevity, but for those who are more likely to drink excessively, it is better to avoid alcohol altogether.

With the information provided in this article, it is possible to lead a healthy life and live longer. Still, it is important to remember that our genes, environmental conditions, mental health are only some of the other factors that affect our longevity. Staying healthy is the best way to live, no matter how long we live!

Give us your opinions in the comments section! What do you do to lead a healthy lifestyle?

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